Smart grid analytics ROI to exceed $121.8 billion globally by 2020

Industry News

Utilities worldwide must maximize efficiency for constrained energy resources. Many are realizing the smart grid vision by using SAS Analytics and SAS Data Management to discover powerful insights buried in volumes of new data. SAS enables utilities to harness data for pinpoint control and monitoring, usage and demand forecasting, rapid diagnosis and repair, as well as predicting output from renewable sources such as solar and wind. For those capabilities, business analytics leader SAS is ranked No. 1 for smart grid analytics and data management/movement in the recently released utility industry report, “The Soft Grid 2013-2020: Big Data & Utility Analytics for the Smart Grid,” by GTM Research.

In addition to trends and predictions for the soft grid, the report forecasts that cumulative global spending on smart-grid-related analytics will top $20.6 billion between 2012 and 2020, with annual spend reaching $3.8 billion globally in 2020. The group estimates that, for utilities deploying these technologies, the achieved return on investment will exceed $121.8 billion globally over the same time period.

According to the report, SAS data analytics software lets utilities track, visualize and predict demand: “When it comes to the true next-gen analytics that represent the focus of this report, SAS remains head-and-shoulders above the other major software giants.”

“This is a transformational time for the utilities industry. Leaders are successfully analyzing a wealth of big data they produce to realize the efficiencies and savings of a more intelligent grid,” says Tim Fairchild, SAS Global Utilities Practice Director. “Powerful SAS Analytics, coupled with the innovation and leadership of SAS’ utilities customers, is helping make smart grid a reality.”

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